At last the major demolitions are nearing completion and the majority of the building is ready for the new concrete floors to be poured on Monday, this means work can begin on re-building the walls and everyone should start to see a difference on the webcam.

After this weeks site meeting I thought there really was going to be nothing to see, quite literally, as more issues arise with the structure of the building requiring further demolitions. As we already knew additional barns and extensions have been added to the original cottage at a number of stages throughout the buildings history, but when the roof came of this section of the building it has revealed that most of these haven't been tied into the existing structure, making it difficult and potentially dangerous to carry out the alterations required. After much discussion, including calling the planners (which I usually try to avoid at all costs) , speculation and worry, it was agreed to follow my current mantra “save every square inch you can.”

It may appear quite extreme some of the work being carried out on the building but the majority of the demolitions, additional openings and changes of level are being undertaken to make the building accessible, which is not only desirable for us but also a requirement of building control and our funders. In the long run the hope is that this renovation will secure a productive future for Lawson Park, for many years to come.

It might look like we’re digging a well but this is the hole for our new biodisc sewage treatment plant which will replace the old septic tank at Lawson Park.

Discussions continue on how we will supply water to the new building, the ground source heat drilling is beginning to show signs of discovering water but how you establish if this will consistently provide the quantity we require I'm not quite sure?? I guess that's why we have so many experts involved in the project. The alternative to the proposed water borehole is to revert to extracting and storing water from a nearby stream, which is how the existing building was supplied. The stream used to date is prone to running dry throughout the summer so we would need to relocate the supply and storage system to an alternative, more consistent stream on the site, which may need additional planning consent. This approach will needs us to confirm an average occupancy for the building throughout the year and agree how many weeks supply we would like to store, maybe we should be digging a well.